Cultivator



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

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oyJyRoBsom GULTIVATOR. No. 351,716. Patented Oct. Z6, 1886.

n l r1 A 1 Y muuu bi1 /ryvss I INVENTOR il www i UNITED STATES PATENT Gruen.

CAPTAIN J. ROBSON, OF EVERGREEN, ALABAMA.

C U LTI VATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 351,716, dated October 26, 1886.

Application filed June l, 1886. Serial No. 203,794. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, CAPTAIN J. RoissoN, a citizen of t-he United States, and a resident of Evergreen, in the county of Conecuh and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton and Corn Cultivators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a partof this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a side View of myimproved cot-l ton chopper and cultivator.V Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a rear view. Fig. 4 is a front view. Fig. 5is a top view.- Fig. 6 is a bottom view; and Fig. 7 is a perspectlve detail view of one of the cultivator-beams,showing the means for raising by the foot.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspending parts in all the figures.

My invention has relation to that class of cembined corn choppers and cultivators in which the chopper-shaft is journaled under the cultivator-axle in hangers, which may be removed, leaving the cultivator frame and beams; and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of such an implement, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed. f'

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A indicates an arched axle, the central portionof which is extensible, and the spindles of which have the drive-wheels B B journaled upon them, the said wheels having cog-wheels C secured to their hubs. The hounds D D of the tongue are securedat the rear ends to the upper side of the axle, and curved bars E E, formingbearings F at their lower ends,are pivoted with their upper ends to the sides of the 'rear ends of the hounds to the rear of the axle.. Two curved bars, G G, project forward and upward from thebearings and slide in guides l-I H upon the sides of the hounds forward of the axle, and the upper ends of'these arms are connected by means of atransverse rod,I, the ends of which are pivoted in the ends of a bifureatedlever, J, fulcrumed upon a transverse rod, K, secured at its end in two upright brackets, L L, upon the hounds, and having a handle at its The curved arms G are connected below the hounds by a transverse rod, N, which may bear against the under sides ofthe hounds, preventing the arms from being drawn too far upward by tilting the rear end of the lever downward. A shaft, O, is jourualed in the bearings atthe lower ends of the curved bars and arms, and the ends of this shaft are provided with two pinions, P l), which mesh with the cog-wheels upon the hubs of the wheels, while the middle of the shaft is provided with a erown-wheel, Q, having its cogs projecting upon its inner face. This crowirwheel meshes with a pinion, R, upon the rear portion of a shaft, S, journaled longitudinally in a-bearing, T, with its rear end at the lower ends of two brackets, U and V, secured with their upper horizontal ends to the shackles W, which connect the hounds to the axle, and with a portion of its 4forward end in a bearing, X, forinedinacrosshas a number of radiating arms, A', secured in it and adjusted by means of set-screws B',

andtheouter'ends oi' these arms are provided with chopping-blades C'.

The eyed forward ends ofthe cult-ivatorbeams D' D are pivoted upon the lowermost ends of the arms of the bail projecting from the hounds, below the cross-piece having the bearing, and the said lower ends of the bail are furthermore bracedby means of two forwardly-inclined braces, E E', the rear ends of which are secured to the shackles upon the axle below the ends of the brackets. The rear ends of the beams are bifurcated, forming two beams each, the rear ends of which are curved downward to form standards F', to the lower ends of which the shovels G are secured, which shovels may be of any desired construction. The rear beam ,portions, H',

are connected by means of cross-bolts I near the rear ends, and by means of bolts J and stirrups K near the forward ends, and footlevers L are pivoted with their forward ends upon the forward bolts. Y

Uprights M M project from the hounds above the axle, and have a number of notches facing downward upon the outer sides, as shown at N', and levers O O' are pivoted with their forward ends to uprights l I upon the hounds, and are provided with laterally and upwardly projecting oblique plates Q Q/ a distance from their forward ends, which plates engage the notches in the uprights. The upper ends of the uprights are connected by a rod or shaft, R', upon which two grooved pulleys, S S', are journaled, and chains T T arc secured to the levers near their forward ends, and pass over the pulleys, and are secured to the stirrups pivot-ed upon the forward bolts bctween the bifurcated beam ends, so that the beams may be raised by depressing the levers.

The bifurcated forward end of the seatsupport 'U' has its arms pivoted to the inner sides of the hounds a short distance forward of the axle, and rests upon the upper side of the axle, and the seat XV for the driver is secured upon the rear end of the support immediately above the rear ends ofthe foot-levers, and rods X X are pivotally secured to the foot-levers ucar their forward ends, and to the upper portions of the chains near the pulleys, so that by depressing the foot-levers they may have their fulcra at the lower ends of the said rods, and thus raise the forward ends,which are pivoted to the forward bolts of the beams, raising the beams. The foot-levers will normally bear against the rear cross-bolts from below ,assist ing in supporting the beams.

Rcarwardlydnelincd rods Y Y are secured to the forward portions of the beams,and have curved and slightly-bulged fender-blades Z Z secured at their rear ends,which fender-blades serve to protect the plants in the row, which the machine straddles, preventing the shovels from throwing clods or weeds over the plants.

rlhe double-tree A is pivoted at its middle upon a board, B, between the hounds of the tongue at the forward end of the machineframe, and bars C C are pivoted at their upper ends to the ends of the doubletree, and with their lower ends to the forward ends of draft-rods D D,pivoted at their rear ends to the axle, and the single-trees E E" are pivoted to the middles of the downwardlyprojecting bars.-

The radiatingr chopper-arms pass through transverse perforations F through the head G, formed at the forward end of the choppershaftwand the inner ends of the arms which pass through the outer and inner perforations are bent, as shown at H, so as to bring allthe arms into the same plane, the arms being bent twice at a right angle from the straight p0rtions, which slide in the perforations and have the set-screws for adjusting them.

Then the machine is to be used asa cotton-chopper, the hifurcated lever at the upper side of the frame is depressed, moving the transverse shaft having the pinions and the crown -wheel forward into engagement with the pinion upon the rear end of the chopper-shaft, and the lever is secured by means of its hook; and it will now be seen that the chopper-shaft will be revolved by the cegwhecls and pinions, and that the radiating arms will chop portions of the row of cottonplants over which the machine is propelled. the width of the cut of each chopper' blade or hoe being regulated by the angle at which the hoe or blade is set, the arms turning in their perforations, so that the hoes or blades may be set to cut directly with the entire width of their edges, or to cut with the edge set at an angle to the side of the row, so that it will not make as w-idc a cut. The cultivators at the rear end of the frame will cultivate the soil between the rows, and the curved and bulged fender-blades will prevent the plants in the row from being covered by soil thrown from the shovels. \Vhen it is only desired to cultivate without chopping the row, or when the machine is transported from one place to another, .the rear end of the bifurcated lever is disengaged from the hook and is raised, depressing the curved arms and moving the transverse shaft backward, so as to disengage the crown-wheel from the pinion on the choppershaft, so that the chopper-shaft will not be revolved. It the plants are so high that the chopping mechanism will be in the way while cultivating, the rear curved bars supporting the bearings for the shaft and the forward bean ing for the shaft may be removed, and the upper ends of the curved lifting-arms may be disengaged from the-ends of the bifurcatcd lever, when the cultivating mechanism will remain upon the frame, and a row of higher plants may be straddled and cultivated without injury to the plants.

The forward ends of the beams are formed into eyes, which are pivoted loosely upon thc lowerends of the arms ot' thebail supporting the beams and the forward bearing for the chopper-shaft, and the beams may be moved laterally as well as up and down, the feet of thc driver resting normally upon the rear crossbolts between the rear ends of the beam portions, so that thc driver may move the beams and the shovels by the motion of his feet and legs.

XVhen the beams and shovels are to be raised out of the way of smaller obstructions, the rear ends of the foot-levers are depressed, when thc rear ends of the beams are raised; but when the beams and shovels are to bc raised entirely out of the way of larger obstructions, or when the machine is transported from one place to another, the levers are depressed and adjusted in one of the lower notches upon the nprights, the shovels and beams being adjusted to the rcquired depth by adjusting the levers in the several suitable notches, the shovels being in this manner supported at a certain height and entering the soil at a certain depth.

lt will be seen that the rows of cotton-plants may be thinned out by chopping and the spaces between the rows cultivated at the same time with avery slight increase in the draft of ilo ICO

IIO

the machine, thus saving the necessity of passing twice over the field, and thereby saving time and expense.

Having-thns'described myinvention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States 1. In a combined cotton chopper and cultivator, the combination of a frame, a downwardly-'proj ecting bar pivotally secured to each side, having abearing at its lower end, a geared frame, having a pinion upon one end engaging with said geared shaft.V l

2. n a combined cotton chopper and cultivater having a pairof double-shovel cultivatorbeams, a foot-lever pivoted to each of said beams, a chain secured to each of said beams, 2o

a bar adj ustably secured at one end to each of said chains and at the other to saidfcot-levers. and a pairl of hand-levers for operating said chains.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as'25 I.

my own I have hereunto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CAPTAIN J. ROBSON.

Witnesses:

C. S. RABB, P. I). BOWLES. 

